Chapter 151: Grouping Result

More than ten minutes later, the 2016 World Championship group draw ceremony ended.

The final group results are as follows:

Group A: ROX, G2, CLG, ANX

Group B: FW, SKT, Snake, C9

Group C: EDG, AHQ, H2K, INTZ

Group D: TSM, RNG, SSG, SPY

Group draw results

European netizens rejoiced.

In the G2 livestream, fans experienced a double twist, turning from sadness to joy, each becoming so excited they couldn't contain themselves, regardless of who would ultimately receive the stream's revenue, they began frantically sending gifts.

Judging by the results, such a grouping is obviously very advantageous for Europe.

As for H2K, needless to say, in the group only EDG looks like the toughest to beat, while the remaining AHQ and INTZ are easy to handle, making the qualification outlook very optimistic.

What surprised European viewers the most was that although G2 initially got lucky and was drawn into Group A with ROX, they ended up not facing the LCK+LPL combination!

Thus this group can basically be considered one of the best possible groups G2 could have gotten.

Although the top-seed team in Group A is ROX, the highest championship contender, the remaining North American third seed and a wild card are not particularly tough opponents, so the qualification outlook remains equally optimistic!

As for SPY…

European netizens began mourning for them the moment the group results were confirmed.

In the G2 training room, everyone cheered excitedly.

Tang Anna also quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Afterwards, Ka Lao Si briefly chatted with the team about the group situation and then turned off the stream.

Only after turning off the stream did the genuine internal team discussion begin.

Everyone gathered around Ka Lao Si and Tang Anna, sitting in a circle.

Ka Lao Si's expression was solemn:

"Brothers, as a second-seed team, ending up with such a group result is an unexpected delight, a blessing from the gods of fate, a favor from the goddess of fortune!

"But never forget this!

"What we are about to face is the League of Legends' annual most prestigious event, with the highest stakes, a championship prize of up to two million dollars, the World Championship!

"Our opponents come from all over the world; each team is the champion of its region, including ANX, which is in our group!

"Even a wild-card team looked down upon by many will, for this supreme honor and for the prize money that could let many achieve financial freedom overnight, surely unleash unprecedented power!

"Brothers and sisters, I believe the gap between people is not that large.

"So do you know what I want to say?

"Do not underestimate any opponent; set aside the pride brought by dominating Europe, and take seriously every match we will face.

"Then move forward, always forward!

"Until we reach our destination!

"Next, our work focus will shift to researching the teams in our group; we must employ every available resource to thoroughly gather their information, whether textual or video, I want it all!!

"Next, please Miss Tang say a few words."

"I don't have much to say."

"Just say a couple of sentences."

"Well..."

Tang Anna stood up, took a light breath under everyone's gaze, and spoke calmly and firmly:

"I used to be a professional player and also served as a team's head coach, so I fully understand everyone's desire to win; believe me, right now I share the same feeling as all of you, and I hope G2 wins every upcoming match.

"To achieve this goal, I will devote myself fully to doing what an analyst should do, and I also hope everyone can openly discuss any questions with me.

"Let's progress together and achieve our goals together."

"Great!!!"

After Tang Anna finished speaking, Ka Lao Si led the applause.

In the training room came a crackling sound, and inexplicably it began to blaze.

After the meeting adjourned, Ka Lao Si gave Tang Anna and Liang Yan a glance each, then turned and left the training room.

Tang Anna followed him out.

Liang Yan then rose and left.

Upon entering Ka Lao Si's office by pushing the door, Ka Lao Si sat behind his desk, while Tang Anna sat upright in the chair opposite him, her back to the door.

Liang Yan gently closed the door and sat down beside Tang Anna.

Ka Lao Si, with a half-smile, got straight to the point:

"The group results have been decided; regarding the group stage, I have an idea—you two should know a Chinese idiom, 'Tian Ji's horse race.'

Liang Yan understood immediately upon hearing it.

Tang Anna could impersonate a language teacher convincingly; her Chinese is certainly fine, and she likewise instantly grasped Ka Lao Si's meaning.

But the two's reactions were not the same.

Liang Yan furrowed his brows slightly.

Tang Anna, meanwhile, appeared thoughtful.

Seeing Liang Yan's expression, Ka Lao Si felt a pang in his heart, realizing he had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained: "No no no, Liang, you might have gotten the wrong idea.

"I am not suggesting anyone throw a match; there is absolutely no such thought, not even a hint, and I am also not proposing to simply forfeit the match against ROX.

"Just now I said in front of everyone that we must give our all to each match; this is my genuine thought—please believe me!"

Liang Yan's brows slightly relaxed, replaced by doubt:

Then what do you mean?

I'll just say it straight.

Ka Lao Si took a deep breath, glanced at Tang Anna, then at Liang Yan,

This time for the world tournament, I plan to bring Lao Li and Expect along.

If we can achieve a full‑win record in the first round, or when we confirm our qualification spot, and then face ROX again in the second round, could we let Expect or Lao Li play?

That's how I think.

The global finals are a chaotic free‑for‑all among many forces, and they last a long time; only teams that are better prepared and hold more trump cards can make it to the end.

Luck is one part, strength another, but what cannot be lacking even more is the management of the whole schedule; this is even something I learned from you, Liang Yan.

Objectively speaking, our raw strength and current trump cards are not enough to sustain us through the whole course, so I think it's necessary to adopt this energy‑conserving strategy.

Doing this can both secure our qualification spot and, to the greatest extent, guarantee that we have more trump cards after reaching the quarterfinals to face other strong teams.

I agree.

Ka Lao Si had just finished speaking when Tang Anna nodded, but added nothing more, for Ka Lao Si had already been clear enough.

Liang Yan glanced at the two, smiled, and said in a teasing tone:

Just a moment ago you were saying not to underestimate the opponent, and now you're starting to hide your tricks?

But if we can't even reliably beat North America's second seed and the wildcard, then I think that's our limit—what do you say?

Tang Anna glanced askance at Liang Yan, her words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Liang Yan was snapped at, so he didn't continue arguing with Tang Anna, but he felt odd inside—these past few days Tang Anna's attitude toward him has been subtly strange, and he doesn't know why.

He thought for a moment, then raised the question from another angle:

Alright, assuming we can securely get four points from the other two teams, the question is: do we aim for first place in the group, or just secure qualification?

Ka Lao Si, hearing that, immediately realized he had oversimplified things.

He therefore proposed to put it on hold for now.